Tape dispensing device



Feb, 21, 1939. c E EDWARDS 2,147,738

TAPE DISPENSING DEVICE Filed March 16, 1936 2 Sheets-Sheet l 546944 a Mg mffm 3%W m Feb, 21 139. c EDWARDS 2,147,738

TAPE DISPENSING DEVICE Filed March 16, 1956 2 Sheets-Shae- 2 Patented F eb. 21, 1939 UNITED STATES TAPE DISPENSING DEVICE Charles E. Edwards, Beverly, Mass, assignor to United Shoe Machinery Corporation, Paterson,

N. J., a corporation of New Jersey Application March 16, 1936, Serial No. 69,081

8 Claims.

This invention relates to the dispensing of reinforcing tape and is exemplified herein with reference to a device adapted for use in connection with a tape-applying machine for holding a supply of reinforcing tape and dispensing it in accordance with the requirements or" the tapeapplying machine.

In the application of reinforcing tapes it has been necessary, in view of their tendency to stretch materially under tension, that they be substantially free of tension when applied to the work in order to avoid puckering of the work, which is likely to occur in any case in which the tape contracts to its normal length after having been applied in an elongated condition. To this end it has been customary to present the tape to applying instrumentalities while in a slack con dition resulting from the use of a pull-oh? device arranged to draw the tape from the source of supply such as a roll, for example; but the difiiculty of making such a device respond quickly to changes in the feed movement of the tape gives rise either to the possibility of excessive slackness and hence jamming of that portion of the tape between the pull-off device and the point where it is applied or else of excessive tension in this length of tape, which tension the pull-ofi device is intended to avoid. However, if a non-stretching tape of the type disclosed in my copending application Serial No. 69,082 filed March 16, 1936, is used, a separate pull-off device may be dis.- pensed with, especially if such tape is supplied in a roll having a liner strip separating successive convolutions of the adhesive tape to prevent them from sticking together.

In view of the foregoing, it is an object of the invention to provide an improved device for dispensing an adhesive tape under a substantial tension which does not fluctuate materially from i a certain desired amount whereby the even delivery of the tape from the device is eifected, and at the same time it is possible to avoid the dangers of uneven delivery which obtain when a pull off is used and the tape is slack just before it reaches the point of application to the work. Though the applied tension is substantial enough to secure the desired result, it is no more than can readily be exerted on the tape by the tape-applying instrumentalities alone.

This object is attained in the illustrated tapedispensing device by the use of tape-controlling members arranged to yield in accordance with the tape tension, one, about which the tape is led in a loop the length of which is' immediately changed in response to changes in the tape tension to equalize it, always being under the control of the other whereby no overrunning of the tape is permitted.

These members, as herein illustrated, comprise a rotatable brake drum driven by movement of the tape and a friction shoe arranged to yield with the drum so as to resist rotation of the drum in inverse ratio with the tape tension further to insure its equalization.

Another object of the invention is to insure not only the continued guiding of the tape from its holder in alinement with the feed position of the work, but also the automatic repositioning of the holder in its operative position after having been removed therefrom to facilitate its being reloaded with a fresh supply of tape. To this end, the invention contemplates a tape holder having guiding means so mounted thereon as to direct the tape to the tape-applying machine when the holder is in its operative position, and means for locating and locking the holder in its operative position. Thus, when once determined, the operative relation between the tape guides and the applying machine is readily reestablished after the holder has been moved to its inoperative position for the purpose of reloading.

These and other features of the invention will appear more fully from the following detailed description when read in connection with the accompanying drawings and will be pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawings,

Fig. 1 is a view in elevation of an illustrative tape dispensing device and a machine adapted to apply tape, parts of the dispensing device being shown in section and broken away more clearly to illustrate its operating parts;

Fig. 2 is a View in plan of the tape dispensing device illustrated in Fig. 1, the tape holder being removed from its supporting bracket;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view, the section being taken along the line III-III in Fig. 2 illustrating the locking of the dispensing device in its operative position on its supporting bracket;

Fig. 4 is a sectional elevation, the section being taken along the line IV-IV in Fig. 2; and

Fig. 5 is a View in perspective of one type of workpiece illustrating a tape applying operation which is facilitated by the use of a tape dispensing device of the type disclosed herein.

The invention is illustrated herein with reference to the application to a work-piece iii of a reinforcing tape I2 both sides of which are coated with an adhesive so that it will both adhere to the work-piece and cause a binding strip l4 (which customarily is sewed to the side of the shoe part opposite to that to which the tape I2 is attached and is then folded about the edge of the shoe part) to be adhesively united to the tape l2. The tape may, however, be used merely as a reinforcement, and in such a case is usually coated with an adhesive on one side only for causing it to be adhesively attached to the workpiece along an edge or over a seam. Accordingly, it is to be understood that the present invention will be useful in connection with any tape-applying operation irrespective of whether one or both sides of the tape are coated with an adhesive and whether the tape is attached to the work by adhesive or by stitching or a combination of both.

The tape I2 is led to an applying machine IS, a sewing machine as illustrated herein, although other machines which are adapted to press a tape and a work-piece together and to impart a feed movement thereto may be suitable for use in connection with a dispensing device embodying the present invention. The tape I2 is led to the applying machine 16, in accordance with the present invention, under a substantial tension in order to insure its even delivery to the tape-applying instrumentalities of the machine; and any tendency of the tape tension to fluctuate is counteracted by the tape holding and dispensing device now to be described.

The adhesive tape i2 is supplied in a roll wound on a core l8 which is loosely received by a hub 20 of a roll holder 2| which is fixed to the base of a housing 22. The housing 22 is supported from a bracket 23 fixed, as by screws, to the lower side of the bench or table 24 on which the tapeapplying machine stands and may be swung about a stud 25 fixed to the bracket 23 from its concealed position under the table into an exposed position to facilitate the placing of a roll of tape on the holder 2|. Successive convolutions of the tape 12 in the roll are separated by a liner strip 26 which permits the tape I2 to be drawn easily from the roll and may conveniently be of a loosely woven fabric or of paper in a strip of such width as to overlap the edges of the adhesive tape for its protection against any foreign substance which might impair its adhesive qualities.

Although the difficulty of pulling tape from the roll is minimized in the operation of the illustrated dispensing device owing to the provision of the liner strip 25 between successive convolutions of adhesive tape l2 which are thereby prevented from sticking together, it is to be understood that tapes of the type disclosed in my copending application referred to above may be wound in rolls without a liner and removed therefrom without stretching the tape unduly.

The adhesive tape [2 and the liner strip 26 are led together from the holder 2| and are looped around the hub 28 of a reel 30 on which the liner strip is collected, the hub 28 being provided with a kerf 32 in which the end of the liner strip 26 is inserted. The reel 30 is rotated in order to wind up the liner strip 26 by frictional engagement of the outer coil of composite tape, comprising the united adhesive tape l2 and liner strip 26, with the outer coil of liner strip 26 on the hub 28, the separation of the tape l2 from the liner strip 26 being effected eventually as a result of the tape l2 being led away from the hub 28 in passing around an idle roller guide 34 mounted on the housing 22 in such a position that the tape I2 is caused tobe wrapped around substantially one-half of the circumference of the roll of liner strip 26 on the hub 28. The reel 30 is mounted to rotate freely on a stud 36 which extends upwardly from the housing 22. The tape I2 is drawn about the guide 34 under relatively slight tension in the operation of the illustrated device since, owing to the provision of the liner strip 26, the tape I2 is easily pulled from the roll on the holder 2| and is easily separated from the liner strip 26 on leaving the reel 30. However, resistance to movement of the tape l2, after passing the guide 34, is set up by means comprising a rotatable member 38, having a knurled periphery about which the tape is wrapped to such an extent as to insure against slippage, and a braking member 4|] arranged frictionally to engage a brake drum 42 formed integrally with the member 38 so as to resist rotation of the member 38 caused by movement of the tape as it is drawn from the device.

Thus, the tape i2 is tensioned on passing the member 38 by the resistance to its turning set up by the braking member or shoe 40 which yieldingly engages the brake drum 42 with a pressure which varies in accordance with the tension of the tape 12, as will be described later. The member 38 is rotatably mounted on one arm of a bell crank 44 which is mounted to swing on a stud 46 fixed to the housing 22 in response ,to changes in the tape tension whereby its regulation is also furthered by the movement of the member 38 bodily about the stud 46. The friction shoe 4B is mounted on one end of a spring 48 the other end of which is fixed to a lug 50 which extends upwardly from the bottom of the housing 22. The brake drum .2 is urged into engagement with the brake shoe 46 by a spring 52 which at one end is connected to the bell crank 44 and at its other end to a pin 54 on a slide 55 which is adapted to be adjusted so as to vary the tension of the spring 52 and hence the force with which the brake drum 4'2 and the brake shoe 40 are held together. Preferably, and as illustrated, the effect of the spring 52 is so much stronger than that of the tape i2 under its greatest tension that, even though the stress in the spring 48 is substantially reduced, the friction shoe 40 and drum 42 always remain in engagement with each other.

Since the friction shoe 40 is displaced from its initial position by the stress in the spring 52 acting through the brake drum 42, it will now be apparent that with variations in the tension of the tape l2 the shoe 4i and drum 42 move together without losing contact whereby the pres sure and hence the frictional force between them is varied in accordance with the displacement of the friction shoe 40 from its initial position. Thus, an increase in the tape tension, such as may be caused by a sudden speeding up of the sewing machine, is immediately counteracted by a counterclockwise movement of the bell crank 44 which results also in an immediate decrease in the frictional resistance to turning of the member 38; and, similarly, a reduction in the tape tension permits the spring 52 to urge the bell crank 44 in a clockwise direction whereby any slackness in the tape is obviated and the deflection of the shoe 4B and hence the resistance to turning of the member 38 is increased as the pressure and friction between the shoe 40 and the brake drum 42 is increased. Thus, so long as the movement of the tape continues, any tendency of the tape tension to vary materially from a pre- 7 tension on the spring 52 determined desired tension is quickly counteracted and the tendency of the tape to be drawn too freely, as by overrunning, as a result of a sudden increase in its tension is prevented by the friction shoe 4!! in following the yielding movement of the member 38.

The slide 56 is provided with elongated slots 58, 58 adapted to receive guide screws 60 so as to permit adjustment of the slide 56 longitudinally of the spring 52. This adjustment of the slide is effected by turning a knob 62 which is rotatably mounted in a flange 64 extending upwardly from the bottom of the housing 22, there being attached to the shank of the knob 62 a member 66 having a cam surface 68 arranged to engage a pin extending upwardly from the slide 56. It will now be apparent that by turning the knob 62 the cam surface 68, against Which the pin Hi is urged by the spring 52, will cause the slide 56 to be moved so as to set up any which may be necessary to obtain the desired res stance to turning of the member 38 and hence the desired tension in the tape l2. The adhesive tape 52 is led from the member 28 about a guide roll 12 rotatably mounted on an upstanding web of the housing 22 and from which the tape is led upwardly about a guide roll 14 from which the tape is drawn substantially at the level at which it is to be applied to the work. The guide roll i4 is mounted to rotate freely in a recess in a support 16 which also serves as a guard for the tape, the support 16 having a stem "it which is received in a hole in the housing 22 and may be clamped in any position of heightwise adjustment by a screw 89 to insure that the tape I 2, upon. leaving the guide roll 74, will be presented to the tape applying instrumentalities at the proper level.

To insure that the guide roll 14, once it has been properly adjusted, will always be alined with the tape-applying instrumentalities of the machine It whenever the housing 22 is returned to its concealed operative position after having been loaded with a fresh roll of tape, a latch 82 mounted to slide vertically in a hub 84 of the housing 22 is adapted to be received in a perforation 85 formed in a plate 88 which is fixed to the lower end of the stud 25. The latch 82 is thus held in looking engagement with" the plate 88 by a spring 9-0 the resistance of which may be overcome to raise the latch and unlock the housing 22 from the plate 88 by pressing upwardly against a pin 92 fixed in the latch 82.

While the operation of the illustrated dispensing device may be understood from the foregoing descriptipn, it will now be briefly summarized. Assuming the holder 2| to be empty, the housing 22 is swung from its concealed operative position,

in which it is normally held by the latch 82, out wardly from underneath the machine It whereby the housing is exposed to facilitate its being loaded with a supply of tape. A roll of tape, which as illustrated herein may comprise the adhesive tape l2 and the liner strip 26, is then placed upon the holder 2!, the end of the liner strip being inserted in the kerf 32 of the reel 30. The end of the adhesive tape is then led about the guide 34, the rotatable member 33 and the guides 12 and M, as illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2. The guide 14 will now be adjusted both heightwise and angularly so that the tape is directed therefrom in alinement with the direction of the feed movement imparted to the work by the tape applying instrumentalities of the machine 16. As the tape is drawn from the dispensing device the reel 30 is rotated to collect the liner strip 26 by frictional engagement between the outermost strand of composite tape and the outermost coil of the liner strip Wound on the hub 28. It is to be understood that, while the use of the liner strip 26 minimizes the difficulty of pulling adhesive tape from the supply roll, it may be dispensed with, in which case the strand of adhesive tape would be carried to the guide 34 without being led about the reel 30.

Such tension as may be desired in the tape to insure its uniform movement to the machine l6 may be set up in the tape by adjusting the knob 62, which, in controlling the tension of the spring 52, determines the frictional force between the brake shoe 40 and the drum 42 which tends to resist rotation of the member 38 and hence the feed movement of the tape. So long as the tape is drawn from the dispensing speed, the tape tension partially relieves the pressure between the friction shoe 4i! and the drum 42; but, with any tendency of the tape tension to change above or below its normal tension which may result from making such changes in the speed of the feed movement as may be necessary to facilitate the laying of the tape around curves, the frictional force between the shoe 40 and the drum 42 will simultaneously be changed by and inversely in proportion to the tape tension. That is, an increase in the tape tension will cause the member 38 and the friction shoe 40 to swing together in a counterclockwise direction (Fig. 2) whereby the displacement of the friction shoe 40 from its initial position and hence the frictional force between it and the brake drum 42 is diminished. Similarly, a reduction in the tape tension such as might result from slackening the speed of feed permits the rotatable member to increase the displacement of the friction shoe 40 from its initial position whereby the frictional force and resistance between the shoe 40 and drum 42 is increased. It will now be apparent that the friction shoe 40 in following the member 38 always resists its turning to a certain extent and thus insures against overfeeding of the tape such as might occur if, for example, the shoe 40 were fixed and if, in response to a sudden increase in tension of the tape, the rotatable member 38 were moved away from the shoe 40.

It is to be understood also that the yielding movement of the member 38 bodily aboutthe stud 46 is a material factor in controlling the tape tension. That is, the tape tension is controlled not only by changes of friction between the brake drum 42 and the friction shoe 40, but also by the movement of the member 38 itself which causes the changes in friction, since the member 38 is mounted, as described above, to yield immediately in response to a change in tape tension either to take up any slack in the tape or to give it up to permit momentarily an increase in the speed with which the tape is withdrawn from the device.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. In a tape dispensing device, a holder for a supply of tape, members disposed in frictional yielding engagement with each other, means for causing the tape to be wrapped about a part of one of said members whereby it is caused to slide against the other member by dispensing movement of the tape, the member about which the tape is wrapped being mounted to yield in a direction extending away from the other member device at a normal in response to an increase in the tape tension, and means for holding the said other member in engagement with the first-mentioned member at all times whereby overrunning of the tape is prevented.

2.In a tape dispensing device, a holder for a supply, of tape, a-rotatable member and a braking member mounted to yield bodily while in engagement with each other, means connected to said, members for yieldingly holding them in engagement with each other, and guides for causing the tape to be'wrapped about said rotatable member in such a direction that an increase in the tape tension causes said rotatable member to be moved in a direction extending away from said braking member.

3. In a tape dispensing device, a holder for a supply of tape, a rotatable member and a braking. member mounted yieldingly to engage each other, said braking member normally being displaced from its initial position by the pressure of said rotatable member, and means for causing the tape to be wrapped about said rotatable member so that the tape tension partially relieves the pressure between said members in accordance with the displacement of said braking member away from its initial position.

4. In a tape dispensing device, a holder for a supply of tape, a rotatable member and a braking member, yielding means connected to said members for holding them in engagement with each other, and means for guiding the tape about said rotatable member whereby it is rotated by movement of the tape, said members being mounted to move bodily while in engagement with each other in response to changes in the tape tension insuch a direction as to cause the friction between said members to vary inversely with the tape tension.

5. In a tape dispensing device, a holder for a supply of tape, a rotatable drum, a yieldingly mounted friction shoe arranged to engage said drum, means for holding said drum against said shoe whereby the latter is displaced from its initial position, and guides for causing the tape to be wrapped about a part of said drum whereby it is rotated by the tape as it is drawn from said drum, the tape tension acting in opposition to said means whereby the friction between said shoe and drum varies inversely with the changes in the tape tension.

6. In a tape dispensing device, a holder for a supply of tape, a rotatable member, guiding means ,for causing the tape to be partially wrapped about said member whereby it is rotated by the tape when it is drawn therefrom, a braking member mounted to yield in response to pressure of said rotatable member, an arm on which said rotatable member is mounted, yielding means connected to said arm for urging said rotatable member toward said braking member, and means for Varying the stress of said yielding means.

In a tape dispensing device, a holder for a supply of tape, a rotatable drum, guides for causing the tape to be wrapped around a part of said drum whereby the drum is rotated by the tape as it is drawn therefrom, said drum having a braking surface, a friction shoe arranged to engage said braking surface and mounted to yield in response to pressure of said drum, a pivoted arm on which said drum is rotatably mounted, and yielding means acting on said arm to urge said drum into engagement with said friction shoe.

8. In a tape dispensing device, a holder for a supply of tape, a rotatable drum having a friction surface, a friction shoe arranged to engage said friction surface, means for causing said tape to be wrapped about a part of said drum whereby the drum is rotated as the tape is drawn therefrom, said drum and friction shoe being mounted to swing While in contact with each other in response to changes in the tape tension whereby the friction between the drum and friction shoe is varied, means for yieldingly holding said drum and friction shoe in engagement, and means for adjusting said last-mentioned means.

CHARLES E. EDWARDS. 

